WASHINGTON — Companies that are developing small launch vehicles or who provide rideshare launch services say they expect new Chinese launch vehicles to drive down launch prices, raising concerns among some of unfair competition. During a panel discussion at the Satellite 2018 conference here March 12, executives of several launch providers said they expected small launchers under development or entering service in China, either by state-owned enterprises or private ventures, to sharply reduce launch prices in the coming years. “I think the Chinese are going to drive an order of…

This is the fourth competition under the current Phase 1A EELV procurement where there has been more than one competitor for national security space missions. WASHINGTON — The Air Force on Wednesday awarded two major launch contracts to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance. Under the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program, SpaceX received a $290 million firm-fixed-price contract for three GPS 3 missions. ULA was awarded a $351 million firm-fixed-price deal for Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-8 and AFSPC-12 satellites launches. The contracts include launch vehicle production, mission integration, launch…

GETTY End of the world: How Stephen Hawking predicted humanity’s end Prof Hawking often had a bleak outlook for the future of humanity, and regularly warned the planet is perilously close to destruction. The late theoretical physicist said on several occasions that humans need to find a new home, as Earth has shown that it is entering its final phase. Speaking at the Oxford Union in 2016, Prof Hawking said: “We will map the position of millions of galaxies with the help of [super] computers like Cosmos. We will better…

The return-to-flight mission will carry an experimental, 300 Gbps telecommunications satellite based on a new, large DFH-5 satellite platform. Future DFH-5’s will deliver 1 terabit per second, up from the current 20 Gbps with DFH-4. China’s most powerful rocket will fly for the third time late this year, with success of the launch to be crucial to upcoming projects including a lunar sample return, space station module launch and a 2020 mission to Mars. Speaking on the sidelines of the country’s annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing in early March, senior…

WASHINGTON — Spaceflight Industries announced March 13 that it has raised $150 million to fund development of the next phase of its BlackSky Earth imaging constellation, with Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio taking minority stakes. At a press conference during Satellite 2018 here, Seattle-based Spaceflight said the Series C round, which includes investment from Mitsui and Co. Ltd. and existing investors, will fund development of the next set of 20 BlackSky satellites, part of an ultimate constellation of 60 satellites intended to provide high-resolution images with rapid revisit times. The…

Get the Mach newsletter. SUBSCRIBE Moon bases have long been a staple of science fiction, but a renewed push for lunar exploration suggests they’re on the brink of becoming science fact. Half a century after the last Apollo astronauts left the moon, President Trump has ordered NASA to plan a return. Other spacefaring nations are planning lunar missions of their own, as are a handful of start-ups. Experts say the moon’s low gravity and proximity to Earth, along with its natural resources, make it a perfect staging post for missions…

WASHINGTON — The launch of several cubesats by an American company without authorization from a federal agency has the rest of the industry worried of a potential regulatory and public relations backlash. IEEE Spectrum first reported March 10 that Swarm Technologies, a Silicon Valley-based startup operating in stealth mode, flew four picosatellites as secondary payloads on an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in January. The SpaceBee satellites were identified in materials by the Indian space agency at the time as “two-way satellite communications and data relay” satellites, but did not…

The first satellite stowaways?ISRO By Leah Crane A Silicon Valley start-up has been accused of sending four tiny satellites into orbit without permission. If it did so, this would be the first ever unauthorised satellite launch, and it could put other larger satellites in danger. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates commercial satellites from US companies, made the accusation in an email exchange with Sara Spangelo, CEO of Swarm Technologies, which was put online by IEEE Spectrum. The FCC had denied Swarm’s application for their “SpaceBee” satellites in…

The massive eight tonne ‘space lab’ named Tiangong-1 vanished from China’s eyes in March 2016, and experts had failed to relocate it. However, authorities have now tracked it down and predict that it will come hurtling back towards Earth before the end of this month. Experts have been unable to pinpoint where the craft could land, but as it approaches Earth, there is a very realistic chance it could hit Michigan where almost 10 million people live. According to Michigan website MLive says Lower Michigan falls “into the regions listed…

The ANA Avatar XPRIZE aims to promote the development of real-life avatars. (XPRIZE Illustration) More All Nippon Airways is sponsoring a $10 million, four-year competition to spur the development of real-life avatars that could provide telepresence over a span of dozens of miles. Registration opens today for the ANA Avatar XPRIZE, with XPRIZE founder and executive chairman Peter Diamandis presiding over a high-profile kickoff at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas. In a news release, Diamandis explained that our ability to experience faraway locales, or provide on-the-ground assistance…